1. Introduction to Criminal Justice
Chapter 6

2. Police Hiring Practices
Practices changed little from
Primarily white males with limited education
Recent efforts to diversify the police with minority and women officers
More testing and screening of applicants
Increase in pay and opportunities today

3. More extensive screening today
Drug tests
Review of educational, military and driving record
Credit check
Interviews with spouse, previous employers
Criminal record check
Physical agility test
Polygraph exam (20% fail)

4. Becoming an Officer Minimum Iowa requirements: Be a U.S. citizen
Be 18 at time of appointment
Hold valid Iowa driver’s license
Not be addicted to drugs/alcohol
Be of good moral character
Successfully pass physical exam

5. Becoming an Officer---Specific Additional Requirements
Not opposed to use of force
Be a high school graduate or hold a GED certificate
Have uncorrected vision of not less than 20/100 in both eyes; corrected to 20/20; not color blind
Normal hearing (hearing aids permissible)
Pass a physical exam

6. Becoming an Officer---Additional Requirements
Undergo psychological testing
Undergo cognitive (basic skills) testing
The physical:
Gender and age specific
Sit and reach
1 minute sit ups
1 minute push ups
1.5 mile run

7. New Educational Requirements
65% of officers had some college
25% were college graduates
8% of departments require 2-year degree, while 9% require 4-year degree
College coursework gives advantages in promotion
Some still believe education is not a necessity for police

8. Training for New Police Recruits
Police academy---Required by most states
Controlled, militarized environment
Taught law, police procedures, weaponry,
interviewing, self-defense, securing crime scenes, and interpersonal skills
Field training
Field Training Officer (FTO) helps apply academy training in the streets.

9. Small group discussion
What do you believe are the most important requirements for a police officer? Education, experience, integrity, background, attitude, etc.
What things in an applicant’s background do you believe should automatically rule them out of being an officer?

10. Increase in minority officers on the jobs
only 5% of officers nationwide were minorities
Women were even a smaller percentage
% of recruits were minorities
17% were women
Federal laws and court decisions pressured departments to diversify

11. Departments are bureaucracies
Bureaucracy: Hierarchically structured administrative organization that carries out specific functions
Formal rules govern each individual’s actions and relationships with co-employees
Goal of bureaucracies is to reach maximum efficiency
For police, to provide best service for the community with its limited resources

12. 1950’s---Reform leads to militaristic organization
Chain of command leads from Chief through each level of department
Delegation of authority is the principle of command on which departments are based
Personnel take orders from and are responsible to those directly above them
Encourages discipline and control

13. Police Organization
Typical structure of police departments is layered:
Chief of Police
Deputy Chiefs (larger departments)
Captains (larger departments)
Lieutenants (larger departments)
Sergeants
Patrol

14. Police strive for efficiency---Response times
Response time: Speed with which police respond to calls for service
Incident-driven policing: calls for service are the primary instigation of action
40-60% of police activity are result of citizen calls
Differential response: Respond first to most serious incidents
“Hot crimes” come first; “cold crimes” later

15. Police strive for efficiency---Arrest rates
More arrests, fewer criminals on street (theory)
But, amount of crime is not necessarily a function of arrest rates
Most arrests are for misdemeanors
Arrests do not always result in imprisonment
Arrest rates cannot be relied on as measures of police performance

16. Police and the community
Many police departments have seen the need to incorporate community policing into their structure (table on p.137)
A philosophy that emphasizes community support for and cooperation with the police in preventing crime
Problem-solving policing – requires police to identify potential criminal activities and develop strategies to prevent them

17. Community policing emphasizes
Promotes community-police partnerships
Proactive problem solving
Community engagement
Develops personal relationships with residents
More freedom for officers to improvise

18. Problem solving policing
Moves beyond simply responding to crimes
Attempts to control or even solve root causes of crime
Analyze patterns of crime
Adjust police actions to prevent further similar crimes

19. Problem solving policing uses
Crime mapping- to identify patterns of crime (Introduced by Compstat program in New York in 1990):
Time of day
Type of crime
Type of weapon
--Location of repeat offenses – Hot spots

20. Broken Windows Theory (Wilson and Kelly)
Decaying and disordered neighborhoods send out signals that criminal activity is tolerated
Broken windows, dilapidated buildings, graffiti, lawless behavior by residents
Promotes fear in law-abiding citizens
Discourages them from leaving their homes, or from improving the neighborhood

21. Broken Windows Theory Is based on order maintenance
“Quality of life” crimes (panhandling, public drinking, urinating in public, loitering, graffiti painting) are not overlooked
Foot patrols are utilized
Officers “reconnect” with community
“Crackdowns” are used to address specific public crimes

22. Question???
Do you believe there is merit to the Broken Windows theory?
How do you think we should treat homeless panhandlers in the inner city? Clear them out? Let them stay?

23. Police Field Organization
Patrol Activities
Investigations
Special Operations

24. Patrol Function
Patrol units – 2/3 of police are on patrol; long considered the “backbone” of force
Deterring crime by physical presence
Maintain public order
Traffic
Arrest
Provide other non crime related services
Paperwork – about 20% of time
Larry Naber says, “Police work is 90% boredom and 10% adrenalin rush.”

25. Police Patrol
Directed patrol: Strategy to respond to specific criminal activity at a certain time
General patrol (or random patrol): Strategy to rely on officers monitoring a specific area to detect crimes in progress, or prevent crimes due to their presence.
All jurisdictions use automobile for patrol, some have bicycles, motorcycles, horses, boats, and foot patrols

26. Kansas City Patrol Experiment (1973)
Utilized 3 different patrol procedures:
Control beats: similar to general patrol
Proactive beats: patrol activities doubled or tripled in area
Reactive beats: no patrol; only reacted to calls from precinct

27. Results of Kansas City Patrol Experiment
Shocking to most observers
Study results---no real difference in:
Crime
Opinions of public of effectiveness of police
Response times
Reports of crime to police
In spite of results, most continue patrols to reassure citizens
But, police concluded they could divert officers from patrol for other activities

28. Investigations Function
Usually after a crime has been committed, a detective does an investigation
Detectives make up about 15% of personnel in midsized to larger departments
May be in specialized units – motor vehicle thefts, forgery, vice, drugs, crime against persons
Detectives’ jobs limited to law enforcement
Investigate primarily common crimes like burglary

29. Other specialized units in detective division
Cold case investigations---Unsolved for long periods (Like Hoffa disappearance; Mark case)
Undercover activities---Assume false identities to obtain information
Sting---Give opportunity for suspects to engage in crime
Confidential informants---Effective, controversial

30. Police subculture
Every organization has a subculture – a broad term used to describe the basic assumptions and values that permeate law enforcement agencies and are taught to new members as the proper way to think, perceive, and act
These values are formed in an environment of danger, stress, boredom, and violence
Unique aspects of police work encourage this

31. Police Culture This socialization process:
Begins on the first day of work
Graduation from academy
Learning from the FTO
Making first arrest
Making first “big” arrest
Using force for the first time
Using or witnessing deadly force
Witnessing major traumatic incidents for first time

32. Police Culture
As an officer, who do you turn to? In whom do you confide?
Slowly, officers tend to insulate themselves from civilians – “us versus them”
Police cynicism – individual officer begin to distrust human motives and expect nothing but the worst from fellow humans
Blue curtain descends; values secrecy and general mistrust of outside world
Leads to understanding he will not report wrong doing by peers

33. Police Culture One of the top ten most stressful jobs
Stress and social isolation a factor in police having one of the highest divorce rates
Law enforcement officers are 300% more likely to develop alcoholism than average American
Entitlement – an attitude of “look at all that I’ve done, gone through, I deserve….”

34. Police Culture
Do these pressures possibility explain why there may be “misuse of force” by police?
Use of Force Continuum:
Officer presence
Verbal
Open hands
Chemicals
Nonlethal
Deadly force

35. Use of Force
Reasonable force – the amount of force a reasonable person would assume was necessary
Deadly force – force applied that is likely or intended to cause death
Non-deadly force – All other types of force
Officers generally justified in using force to protect themselves or others
Occurs in only about 1.5% of encounters with public

36. Supreme Court restrictions on use of force
“When the suspect poses no immediate threat to the officer or to others, the use of deadly force is not justified.” (Tennessee v. Garner, 1985)
Police may use deadly force if they have probable cause to believe a fleeing suspect poses a threat of serious injury or death to the officer or others.

37. Police Culture
Police corruption – misuse of police authority to produce a personal gain
Grass eaters – passive corruption: accepting free meals, coffee
Meat eaters – more aggressive in quest for personal gain: bribery, payoffs, shakedowns

38. Stages in Moral Decline of Police Officers (Sherman)
1st stage: Officer accepts minor gratuities
2nd stage: Gratuities evolve into outright bribes
3rd stage: Officers actively seek out bribes and even force parties to pay for services
Moral decline follows lack of training, lack of supervision, and potential for large financial gain

39. Police Culture
The blue curtain; thin blue line; blue wall of silence, the blue code of silence are all names given to police not telling about the misconduct of a fellow officer.
Is it permissible for an officer not to give another officer a speeding ticket?
What are some other situations where the “blue curtain” would prevail?

40. Group Discussion Topic
You are a uniformed police officer. You have just eaten your lunch and tried to pay. You were told that as an officer, you eat for free. What do you do and why?
You are a State Trooper and have stopped a speeding vehicle. You learn the “speeder” is a local police officer. Do you give him/her a ticket and why?
How about if it was your neighbor-friend?

41. Police accountability
Internal affairs units (IAU) or (IAD)
Conduct investigations in-house of complaints or reports of violations
Officers could be disciplined or even prosecuted
Citizens’ oversight boards used in some areas
Review allegations of brutality or misconduct and make recommendations

42. Police Culture
Ethics – the rules or standards of behavior governing police work; aimed at ensuring the fairness and rightness of actions
Three guiding rules
Is it legal?
Is it balanced?
How does it make me feel about myself?
Police Code of Conduct (official): Officers will not allow personal feelings, animosities, or friendships to influence official conduct. (Realistic?)

43. Ethical Dilemmas Officer does not know right course of action
They have difficulty doing what is right
The wrong choices are very tempting

44. DNA at work Major breakthrough for crime investigation
Compares known sample of DNA to one found at crime scene
If positive match, lab will determine odds that sample came from someone other than match subject
Odds often extremely high

45. Concerns about DNA collection
Combined DNA Index System (CODIS)
Gives law enforcement access to DNA profiles of a large number of people
Widening group of offenders now required to give samples
How far should we go?
Convicted of violence?
Convicted of felony? (Currently)
Arrested?